Combination Robot B/O 17-in-1

Review by The Enthusiast
Super Combination Robot
There’s no getting around it: This robot is grotesque. But it’s not without charm. This is Frankenstein bootleg maximalism at its most psychedelic. Metal plating and questionable aesthetic choices abound. The Super Combination Robot B/O 17-in-1 (hereafter abbreviated SCR) combines parts from the DX Popy Dairugger XV, the DX Popy Golion, G1 Omega Supreme (or the Toybox Mechabot-1, if you prefer), as well as “original” elements (though it’s possible that I just don’t recognize all of the pieces) to knit them together. This toy is impressive in its audacity.
The packaging (measuring 15”x22”x4”) is faux-Popy DX gone disco. The top/lid features a photograph of the toy with bizarre lighting effects and clumsy typography. There’s a handle, and beneath the box -top the contents are framed with a Popy-style window cover, though the text is upside-down. The sides of the box feature photos of different configurations.
The combined robot is overwhelming. It stands at 13”, taller than most other Popy DX gattai, though shorter than Dairugger. One has no idea where to look: the shapes and colors all fight for dominance, and the scales of individual pieces are too similar. With its prismatic decals, chrome and gold plating, and multiple clashing colors, it’s exhausting to look at. By any standard apart from whimsy, this is just bad design.
The combined SCR uses the heads of both Omega Supreme and Dairugger (interchangeably), the heavily modified torso of Omega Supreme, the arms of Dairugger, the legs of Golion, and the modified upper legs of Dairugger as clips. Parts from, I’m guessing, a non-mecha based cheapo airplane toy have been grafted onto Omega’s chest. Boots of a new sculpt encase the lions. SCR wears an OS backpack, outfitted with a bubble and piston gimmick and rubber hoses. The set comes with Golion’s shield and sword.
Everything is lightweight ABS plastic, but respectable in fit and finish by bootleg standards, with the exception of the yellow lion’s head, which is poorly constructed.
The only limb articulation is in the shoulders, elbows, and neck. The shoulder rotors spin freely. The pistons in the backpack move up and down when activated. The tank is motorized, with two sets of articulated wings. The Dairugger components all roll on rubber wheels.
Head(s)
Omega’s head is the default head (at least based on the box art). The mold is the same as the original, but the gray plastic is now black, and the red turret is now gold-plated. The alternate Dairugger head actually looks pretty neat, having been cast in blue and nicely finished with a gold and silver paint scheme on its face. Unfortunately, the Dairugger head looks silly on the robot because of its ungainly neck, concealed in the original toy.
Torso
Omega Supreme’s tank forms the torso. As in the head, the original gray plastics are black, the red pieces gold-plated. The leg trim is red instead of yellow. The mechanics have been slightly altered to activate the backpack. The fuselage and wings of a jet have been integrated into the top of the tank. The arm joints have been totally reworked to accept the new shoulders.
Arms
SCR’s arms are straight from Dairugger, but simplified. The shoulders have different, smaller rotors, the paint apps have been eliminated and partially replaced by decals, and the pull-back motors have been removed. The fists each use the mold from the original red Dairugger fist, and have retained their rocket-punch mechanism.
Legs
The lions themselves are Frankensteins of Golion parts. Both use the head of the blue lion and the body of the yellow. The rear leg-lock mechanism has been reworked to attach and detach the lions onto OS’s extended treads via a button on the lions’ bellies. The back missile gimmick raises and lowers, but does not fire. The lion’s mouths are slack. Their tails are installed upside-down.
The “boots” surrounding the lions are an interesting innovation for the SCR, and of an entirely new sculpt. Once the lions clip onto the tread stumps, the boots surround them, giving a better weight and scale to the legs. The boot shells clip together ala OS, but using a combination of (2)OS clips, (2)modified Dairugger ships, and (2)unique trapezoidal clips. The Dairugger clips are modified versions of the original XV red thigh ship, but with without the splitting feature and with a clip molded onto the underside. The unique clips on the front of the boots cannot attach as shown on the box, their clip interface is upside-down. I actually like the look of SCR from the waist down.
Back Pack
I have no idea where the bubble-piston comes from. The top of the bubble appears to have been painted by hand! The candy-colored pistons within move 1/4” up and down. The lower part of the backpack, here molded in white and black, is very close to Omega’s, but has been reworked to bee a static block rather than the original clamshell.
Summary
This toy is probably only appealing to most collectors as an oddity. I enjoy strange and ugly robots and use them to liven up my shelves, but for most, getting past its ugliness will be a real challenge. The SCR isn’t especially rare or desirable, so you can probably find one in its box for fifty bucks.
Posted 12 March, 2009 - 07:56 by The Enthusiast |
Comments
23 comments postedAwesome review, man! Great job pointing out ALL the differences in all the individual components...lots of worthy effort in there...for a toy that probably doesn't deserve it! ;)
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Sanjeev
Please don't post these kind of reviews after lunch! ha ha
What a wild toy, It has to be seen to be believe, I love reading about these sort of pieces, thanks for another great review.
BTW, I like your art design with the modified pictures with titles and boxes. Very well done!
Leonardo Flores
CollectionDX Staff Writer-West Coast Bureau
I don't mean wow in a good way either, follow that wow with the question why?...LOL Even though this toy is a virtual monstrosity I cant help but feel it would be fun to tinker with. Great 2nd review!
-Dan
CollectionDX LLC
Vice President/Co-Owner
"the other fat bearded guy at CDX"
Like the others have already said, nice job with pictures and making the effort to find the differences. The sheer crazyness of this robot makes me want one.
they will all taste oblivion!... which tastes just like redbull...
which is disgusting...
Awesome review after this was brought up on TBDX... The white clips on the back of the legs are effectively the same parts as the yellow clips that keep OS's legs together. I like the fact that you compared individual parts to their lineage in the review... interesting stuff!
Knockofimus Maximus!!!
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Rob
The Gundam Model Guy
It did cross my mind that I was expending a lot of effort on such a monstrosity, but the beautiful toys already get so much love, and SCR certainly brings the funk! I also get a perverse pleasure out of giving such an obviously dodgy toy the vintage gokin treatment.
The fact that they just slapped a generic F-15 on the chest for good measure!
Leonardo Flores
CollectionDX Staff Writer-West Coast Bureau
You have to get one of these, just so I can say "welcome to the club, sir," as if you had just procured a Garada K7 or something.
Sick and twisted! Looking at this thing will kill your brain cells. I love it!
Ok, so I opened mine up, which is named SUPER combination robot 17 in 1, and it is much much more horrible than yours. Mine is like the sixth generation from yours, worn out molds, crappy plastic, flashing all over the place. Its just a mess. But it has a great folk art quality to it.
I'm pretty sure the plastic gave me cancer though.
[g2:455911]
[g2:455918]
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more photos here:
http://www.collectiondx.com/gallery/Toys/Bootleg/SCR17/
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CollectionDX Admin
This is unholy. Unholy and awesome!
I actually prefer the skittles/easter bunny colorway. I think it's a stronger design without all the bling. Too bad the molds are shot. (the shoulders have full rotors though)
Thanks for sharing!
It's like they are from Brazil or something.
I fine piece that deserves it's own review.
Leonardo Flores
CollectionDX Staff Writer-West Coast Bureau
Holy crap, Josh's is like a KO of a KO... truly a sick and twisted creation!
This toy is so monstrous even I don't want it and I think that's saying something! The review itself on the other hand was outstanding. Great work!
Josh, I can't believe you took yours off the card. Now you'll never be able to sell it for big bucks..
"This must be settled the way nature intended....with a vicious, bloody fight!"
Onyx Blackman
Principal, Flatpoint High
"The set comes with Golion’s shield and sword."
Actually, it's Golion's shield with Dairugger's sword.
As if the thing wasn't hilarious enough to look at, the text in the inner box being upside down made me laugh out loud... it just clinched everything the toy is perfectly.
What's sad is even though it's a hideous monstrosity, I know that if I came upon it in a flea market I'd have to get it JUST to see where the creators decided to change the original mold. Dumb, but...
In this day of high quality, super-poseable toys from Japan, it's great seeing that icky asian market kitbashes are still around. Too nostalgic and wacky not to be loved on some level.
I'd like to get both versions shown here and make a more purple / neon green version, painting anything NOT in those colors similar or in black.
Thanks for reviewing this!
(LOL... "Cosmic Plane Group" looks like one of those wonnky configurations you'd see on early Micronauts pamphlets!)
I saw this item at a collectibles store once... many years ago. To this day it bewilders me.
It kind of looks like the generic F-15 jet on the chest is actually a modified Transformer. In Europe, the original Transformers toy line persisted a year after it died in the US and among the toys put out were the Predators, a series of Decepticon jets (and one tank). This looks a lot like Talon: http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/9968/talon.jpg
This toy was also released in Japan as Moon Jet.
I am extra suspicious of the Predators because I have a bootleg similar to this that makes the small Predator jets combine into a big robot in a similar fashion even though they obviously didn't do this originally. They connect into the same sort of weird bulky frame.
I'm hopefully obtaining one of these soon, and it is a pleasure to revisit this review. The extra work put in to comparing the parts with their ancestors is really appreciated.
I GOT ONE! I now have no reason to ever have an omega supreme or Dairugger.
That thing is...just an abomination
And I have to say if you're a. American robot collector you should be required to proudly own one. SC17 is like me, a 6 foot chromed out loud and tacky American, standing tall (displayed) in the middle of Tokyo (my robot collection) surrounded on all sides by a sea of smaller, more reserved, and polite Japanese citizens (all my other robot) Plus I now have a sword for my Dairugger XV!!